Musical "sophisticates" have been sneering at the Berlioz Requiem for many years. No piece that's written for a chorus and orchestra of 400 plus four brass bands could possibly have any value, they explain. Not many of these people actually had heard the Requiem; as a matter of fact they had little chance. For the piece that Berlioz most wanted preserved has been glibly ignored by most of the world.

Those who were fortunate enough to hear Charles Munch conduct the Requiem this week know that it is a remarkable piece, one that easily rises above the carpings. The orchestration is a revolutionary feature but there is more to it than unique sounds such as flutes combined with trombones playing pedal tones. The Requiem is great dramatic religious music.

Charles Munch is probably the outstanding living interpreter of Berlioz. His reading of the Requiem was incandescent. But great credit must also go to the Glee Club and Choral Society. It seems remarkable that in so short a time they could become so respensive to Mr. Munch's direction. And even in the last performance, their tone quality remained pure and clear. The excellence of their training was particularly well shown in the a capella prayer "Quaerens me."

The chorus should have been somewhat larger. Although Mr. Munch kept the orchestra and chorus in approximately the same proportion that Berlioz envisaged, the voices were not strong enough in the triple-fortissimo passages of the "Tuba Mirum" and "Laerymosa." At these times, however, these was quite a bit else to occupy one's attention.